The first prequel of the series hope you like it
(ATF chapter 01)
Time was frozen aboard a ship as two individuals kneeled over a dead man looking a little heartbroken then time seem to speed up as they started breathing "Lt. Col Uzumaki! 1st Lt. Refraction of dawn! Are you two okay?" asks Ann the Andromeda Ascendant's AI (1) projection looking a little concern for her friends.
They both look over to her nodding their heads "we'll live" Naruto said assuring her they were ok.
"Somethings wrong! We're moving away from the singularity but…the Nietzschean fleet…our escape pods their all gone" Ann says sounding puzzled at what her sensors were showing her.
That had gotten both his and Dawns attention as they stared at her a little confused "that's impossible" Refractions of dawn said as the both of them got up and walked up to her wanting an answer.
"We may have experienced more severe time dilation, as we approach the event horizon of the blackhole" she theorized.
This made the knot in his stomach grew as he feared the answer to his next question "how severe?" he asks wanting to know the answer, he sees her close her eyes for a few seconds calculating how much time had passed then opens them and wasn't answering them "well, spit it out!"
She then answers him "according to my calculations…we have been frozen in time…for 300 years!"
"Three hundred years!?/Three hundred years!?" both Naruto and Dawn said at the same time shocked at hearing Ann's answer.
"Oh my god!" he says as they tried to wrap that fact around their heads, Naruto then looks up at her "what about my wives? My children? Our crew?" he asks a bit shakily hoping she was wrong.
Ann then says solemnly "I'm sorry Naruto, everyone the three of us knew…our entire world, is gone" sounding a bit sad at telling him that.
(Hanger Deck)
Unbeknownst to the three of them they didn't know a small cargo ship had landed in one of the bigger hanger bays with its crew getting ready to explore the ship "okay so story goes, the crew of the Andromeda Ascendant abandon ship but they did so in the middle of a battle, so god only knows what we can expect when we get off the Maru" a blond woman said to her crew.
"I wouldn't presume to speak for the divine" a Magog monk said as he was looking her then turns to his other two crewmates as they were putting their EVA suits on "but do watch out for unexploded ammunitions, anti-personal nanobots, automated attack drones an…" was all he was able to say being interrupted by the blond woman "not to mention radiation leaks, blown pressure seals, shrapnel…".
"Ok, ok mom and dad! We get the picture" interrupted a short man as he was checking over his EVA suit for any tares.
"We'll be careful, I promise" assured a purple skinned cutie with red and purple highlights in her blond hair as she zip'd up the zipper on the back of the short man's EVA suit.
The blond woman didn't seemed assured by that "I don't want you to be careful, Trance! I want you to be paranoid" she tells the younger woman.
This lead to the short man to raise his right arm in an eager like manner "Miss Valentine?" he asks like he was talking to a teacher.
"Yes Harper" she answers acting like one.
"This isn't our first fieldtrip, you know" he says to her but then looks over to the one named Trance "purple company excluded, of course"
"That's the point, I want you to treat every boarding like it was your first one, I want you to double check everything hell triple check it" she says to them like a mother dotting over her children "I'd hate for either one of you to end up like Vexpag" as she went to grab her gear.
"Vexpag?" questions a slightly confused Trance wondering who that was.
The Magog was checking her EVA suit "your predecessor" he answers her making sure there wasn't any tares on her suit.
Hearing that a look of realization hit her "oh~ he's the guy that retired" she muttered out loud then looks to Harper "didn't you say, he bought a farm?" she questions him.
"The Farm! He bought the Farm" he tried to clarify it for her.
It just made her confused "well, what's the differences?" she asks not understanding his meaning.
"Torn pressure suit and a bad emergency seal" Valentine told her as she gave the young lady a device and heads for the air-lock.
Trance looked a little worried at that "oh that is different" she says solemnly which the Magog placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder telling she will be fine as he went into the airlock with the rest of his crewmates as they left the cargo ship.
(Command Deck)
We see Naruto had just finished binding Gaheris's hands and feet in steel wire and sat down next to Dawn "300 years…I wonder if anyone remembers what we were fighting for?" Naruto asks out loud to no one in particular as he stared over at Gaheris, remembering his words from earlier.
"They died for what they believed in" Ann says trying to sound sympathetic
Naruto looks overs at Ann when she said that then shakes his head "that's the same exact speech Dylan would say, if he was here" he says as he looks at his dead captain "only he isn't here now, same for his fiancé Sara Riley, Dawns mating group, Rhade's family…" he paused as he was about to finish his sentence.
Dawn then finally speaks up "we'll find someone! One of our descendants, the Commonwealth will know where to find them" trying to uplift his mood.
Hearing Dawn speaking a word caught his attention making him stand up "the Commonwealth!" he whispers to himself then looks between both her and Ann "we need to make contact with them and let them know we're alright" Naruto says as he walks over to a console.
"I'm not picking up any local signals but…" she began but quickly stops mid-sentence as she felt something "Naruto..." she says getting his attention "…we have intruders onboard…and their trying to rewire me" she informs him with a hint of panic in her tone and worry on her face.
(Hanger Deck)
We see Harper squatting next to a circuit hub with a cord in his left hand as he was looking at the device it was connected to "come on, be nice" he whines as he was trying to find a circuit to plug into then with a "oh" he inserts the cord causing it to spark with three rapid beeps sounding after plugging in the cord "got it" he says out loud happily.
"You have control of the ship?" Valentine asks looking a little hopeful as she was taking off her EVA suit.
A smile appeared on his face "uh no, but I do have control of the doors" Harper tells her as he presses a button on his Data pad which causes the door leading into the ship to open making his crewmates to look as they finished taking off their EVA suits.
"This IS system is insane" he adds as he looks over the operating system "I've never seen such interconnectivity in a single system, it's going to take weeks to figure it all out" he says giving them an estimation on how long it would take to figure it all out.
This caused the Nightsider of the group to voice his concerns "weeks!? We have a delivery date to keep" he reminds her sounding a bit edgy.
"And we will, even if we have to drag this thing in, but I'm betting your client will be a lot happier, if we delivered a ship he can actually use" she says to him a little heatedly wanting him to get off their backs.
While listening to their banter Harper grow bored and sets his tools down then stands up "captain I wi…" "Look this little 'struggle for authority' thing is all very cute but if you two aren't too busy, I could really use a ship schematic" Harper said interrupting the banter between his Nightsider employer and his captain telling them what he needs.
Confusion crossed Trances face as she heard him say schematic "a what?" she questions not knowing what that was.
"Something that'll tell me, what most of this crap does" Harper answers her getting an 'oh' from Trance.
She looks to Valentine "do you want us to poke our noses around?" Trance asks.
Valentine seemed to be contemplating her inquiry for a second before answering "yeah, see what you can find, maybe we can find some divine providence" she tells them walking towards the door and going down one of the corridors.
The monk gave a hum as he also walks to the door "never hurts to asks" he says as he passes his Nightsider employer followed by Trance.
(Command and Control – Ten minutes later)
"And that makes five" Dawn says as the middle viewer shows the five individuals on separate cameras.
The intruders confused them as they watched everything they did "Humans working with a Magog? Are they crazy?" he asks either of them a little bewildered at that fact.
"Apparently, although their leader appears to be a Nightsider" Ann surmised as they saw him counting the crates that were in the room he was in "and I haven't a clue on what she is" she said as the screen Trance was on enlarged showing she was looking around Hydroponics.
The screen then enlarges on Harper who walks in a machine shop scratching the rash on his neck hard "another thing I don't understand, is I'm sure he has Triangulum Measles (2)"she says checking her medical records on the rash.
"So he's sick!" he says getting a nod from the projection "with a disease that was nearly extinct 300 years ago, something any decent doctor could cure overnight" she says as she found it odd the short man didn't get it treated.
"I'm no…" was all she was able to say before the short man whistles into his comms trying to get his companions attention "hello, guys! I'm waiting" he calls out hoping they found something.
A smile appeared on Naruto's face "maybe it's time I introduce myself" he says.
(End Chapter)
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1. The Artificial Intelligence of the Andromeda Ascendant is an extremely powerful artificial intelligence that controls, repairs and regulates the ship through the ships systems, nano bots and dozens of androids which serve both a security and maintenance function.
It manifests itself as a hologram and an on-screen avatar image. The Artificial Intelligence is granted the same rights as a living person by the Systems Commonwealth and most civilized planets.
The Artificial Intelligence prefers to be referred to in the feminine, and the form of the Artificial Intelligence that is encountered the most is the mobile android housing that Seamus Harper built. The android is affectionately known as Rommie by the crew.
The Artificial Intelligence has been seen from time to time having an argument with her other selves (On-screen versus Hologram) (On-screen and Hologram versus Rommie). Usually with the different aspects representing different conflicting view points such as the screen image advocating the welfare of the ship, the hologram advocating the welfare of the crew in general and the android the emotions and well-being of the crew as individuals or of the AI itself.
2. Triangulum Measles is an illness that turns from an annoying rash to deadly virus in about 5 weeks.
The illness starts as Protozoa. They first attack epithelial cells, and spread over the muscles, to the internal organs and finally the brain, which causes death.
Triangulum measles is relatively easy to treat, and is treated with a cream that is applied 3 times daily. In the pre-fall Commonwealth, this aliment was easily treated, and was looked at as a minor irritant at best. But after the Long Night, medical help became difficult to obtain and the disease swept across the Known Space.
